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Duchess of Sussex’s American Riviera Orchard trademark in a jam
Posted: 01/10/2024
The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, has hit a stumbling block following the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) partial refusal of a trademark application made by her company, Mama Knows Best LLC, in respect of the brand name. The USPTO’s decision leaves the brand, which has already been soft-launched......>>
Passing-off: can a claimant rely on goodwill in a brand it has not actually used?
Posted: 16/02/2024
In a recent IPEC decision, Prysmian Cables & Systems Limits v M/S Apple International [2023] EWHC 2176 (IPEC), the court had to consider whether the claimant had any goodwill in a brand that had not been used for many years. The claimant (Prysmian) is a UK-based company which sells cables under the brand BICON. It brought a passing-off......>>
New address for service requirements at the UKIPO affecting comparable (clone) UK trade marks and re-registered designs - effective 1 January 2024
Posted: 01/12/2023
As of 1 January 2024, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is changing its rules concerning addresses for service for certain proceedings affecting United Kingdom trade marks and designs. This important development affects EU/EEA owners and representatives of UK comparable trade marks and re-registered designs (‘cloned rights’)......>>
Burton’s Foods Ltd v Not Guilty Food Co Ltd: the wrong approach?
Posted: 28/06/2023
The UK IPO has rejected an appeal by Not Guilty Food Co Ltd (the appellant), opposing an application by Burton’s Foods Ltd (the respondent) for a figurative series mark (shown above) covering a variety of baked goods, confectionery and desserts in class 30. The appellant relied on its senior UK trade mark registrations for “The Skinny Food Co”......>>
Why businesses should register their design rights
Posted: 05/04/2023
Registered designs are often overlooked by businesses assessing how best to protect their intellectual property (IP). This is in part due to the complex and multi-layered legal framework for design right protection in the UK, but it also results from an underestimation of the role such rights can play in a business’s portfolio......>>
McDonald’s able to prove use of its BIG MAC EUTM
Posted: 20/03/2023
McDonald’s has successfully overturned the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) decision that it failed to prove use of its EUTM ‘BIG MAC’ for the goods and services for which it is registered (a range of goods and services in classes 29, 30 and 42), by successfully applying to the Board of Appeal for permission......>>
EasyGroup succeeds in unfair advantage claim in trade mark dispute (Easygroup Ltd v Easy Live Services Ltd)
Posted: 03/02/2023
Easygroup Ltd (‘easyGroup’) has succeeded in establishing that certain use made by Easy Live (Services) Ltd and its directors (together ‘Easy Live’) of ‘easyLiveAuction.com’ signs took unfair advantage of easyGroup trade marks under section 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994). However, this came at a cost......>>
Clear skies ahead: success for Sky in long-running battle with Skykick
Posted: 10/11/2021
The Court of Appeal has sided with Sky in its most recent clash with Skykick, a global provider of cloud management software for IT solution providers, by overturning the High Court’s decision to restrict some of Sky’s trademarks on the grounds of bad faith......>>
Unregistered design right protection in the UK and EU post-Brexit
Posted: 25/05/2021
Unregistered design right protection in the UK is changing following the end of the Brexit transition period. For all designs first made available before 31 December 2020, continuing unregistered Community design rights will apply until the end of the term of protection (three years from the date at which a design is first made available to the public)……>>
Chanel loses appeal against Huawei’s EUTM application
Posted: 04/05/2021
French luxury fashion house Chanel has lost its appeal to the EU General Court in relation to its opposition to Chinese global technology company Huawei’s EU trade mark application. In 2017, Chanel opposed Huawei’s application to register the logo below, consisting of two intertwining U-shaped curves...…>>

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